“You should be setting a good example…wear some shoes.”

[mowing my lawn with a push-reel mower barefoot]

Cool portfolio site by photographer Fraser Page. Great work.

On the heels of the heavily anticipated release of CS5, Adobe has announced the release of CS6, which takes the advances of CS5 and pushes the limits of what is possible with today’s hardware and software platforms. Copies of CS6 hit stores this week and was made available for download this past Monday. Both Adobe and Apple have sung praises over the latest release of the creative suite, saying that creatives today cannot hope to advance as professionals without the groundbreaking suite, and that this latest platform is a must-have for creative work in the 21st century. Only macs that have been released in the past 6 months are capable of running the new software, so many designers and creative artists will need to upgrade.

Of course, this opening paragraph is fabricated. But I wanted to illustrate how I feel lately about the current trend of Adobe releasing a new creative suite every 12-18 months, requiring me to sometimes not only update my software at $800+ a pop, but also sometimes necessitating upgrades to my mac, or a new mac entirely.

The release of CS5 signals a fork in the road for me. I will need to buy a new mac and operating system in order to keep up with the current trend. I do operate in a creative field, which means that I also have to keep up appearances. This requires an endless cycle of updating my retro sneakers, slim-fit pants, tight-fitting polo shirts with big collars, mirrored Ray-Bans, clever screenprinted messenger bags, designery big-ass watches, the latest ironic haircuts, and big pretty macs with bigger, prettier screens to impress upon your clients your inherent creativity and uncanny ability to keep your finger on the pulse of designer culture.

Well, the big secret is that I’m not cool. I’m a dad that lives in a quiet, perfectly boring neighborhood that I love. I mow the lawn on Saturdays. I cook macaroni & cheese and make peanut butter sandwiches for my son. One of my favorite objects is my demolition pry bar. I ride a cheap, bone-stock mountain bike. I get my hair cut at a mall. I don’t buy clothes. I just wear what people buy me. And I don’t make a lot of money, so I carry a messenger bag that was given to me in 2003 by a rep from a national salon product company. I use paper and pen. I don’t like iPhones, iPods, or iPads. I don’t need them and I find they are time wasters. They also become smudgy pieces of shit after 5 minutes of use. Do you know how ridiculous you look when you’re constantly wiping that screen? I’m wondering how many OCDs have been launched with the release of these things. I’d like to make an iPhone clone that has only one thing displayed on the screen: GO OUTSIDE.

And now, I’m seriously contemplating using a PC to do my work. Hold on, I hear a knock at the door…

…I’m back, my license has just been revoked by the creative police.

To be honest Steve Jobs, I bought this mac a few years ago, and now it’s pretty much useless, unless I need a new file server, which I don’t. My first mac lasted close to 8 years, and this one lasted 4. I can do the math. If I could go Linux, I would have.

BIG SECRET #2: I used PhotoShop 6 and InDesign 1.5 the other day to work on a project. Why? to prove that my work was just as good on the old platform (using OS9, which screamed by the way.) The lesson here is that Adobe and Apple are just tools that I use to get my ideas out. They are not necessities. They are merely tools. The only thing you need to cultivate your creativity is a brain that is capable of producing creative thoughts and a method to translate your inner world to the outer world. And I’m getting tired of spending thousands every year or two on new tools when the old ones worked just fine. If I go Windows, at least I can keep my box for several years and when I need to upgrade I can do it for a fraction of the cost.

What I’d really like to see is some big agency declare that enough is enough. I want the creative field to demand more than just some upgraded brush patterns for $800. I’m taking a stand. Is there anyone else that feels this way?

Just ran across this new graphic design / printmaking book released by Gestalten.

“Today’s graphic designers, illustrators, and typographers are rediscovering old printing techniques and handcrafts. They are inspired by passion for the unique; the feel of different papers, press cuts, and embossing; the brilliance of printing inks; and the originality of book binding techniques. The book Impressive presents the results of this passion.”

“Today’s fascination with old-fashioned printing presses and techniques started with individual designers and smaller collectives that created one-of-a-kind printed material by hand for special occasions, such as weddings or birthdays. Impressive features these artists and their personal work as well as a broad range of business cards, invitations, stationery, and publications that are designed and produced in a way that is both nostalgic and contemporary. Historical styles – from the Victorian grandeur of floral elements and adornments to the aesthetics of classical modernism – are used and referenced as well as combined and reinterpreted in unusual ways. Traditional and more exotic techniques such as silk-screen printing, stamping, woodcut, or linocut are used. What counts is doing it yourself.”

I’m working on a project right now and am using Old Claude, which is a great font for providing that turn-of-the-last-century feel.

Steve Jurveston shares his weekend hobby, which is launching awesome model rockets that actually reach space!

You’ll have to excuse the length between posts. I am working on a Notre Dame project, and I’m eating and sleeping it right now, having designer’s block like Charlie Kaufman in Adaptation. I swear to you the work is good. Really. I’m not just drinking beer with my neighbor. I’ll try to update at least once a day. But if you don’t see anything, don’t worry. I’ll come out the other end of this alive.

I have a new favorite typeface. Florian is the work of 110/design, which is based in Moscow. Beautiful legibility, large apertures, asymmetric wedge serifs, Opentype support. Fantastic. I can’t wait to buy it.

Grid is the online portfolio of Ashwin Patel. Me likey.